1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector for sterile connection to a complementary connector, to a connector system for sterile connection of a feed-through opening of a connector to a fluid inlet and/or fluid outlet of a conventional connector, and to the use of a connector and of a complementary connector for sterile connection of a feed-through opening of the connector to a fluid inlet and/or fluid outlet of the complementary connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
In modern pharmaceutical technology and/or laboratory technology, use is frequently made of containers, such as, for example, bags, flexible tubes bioreactors, etc., in which bioprocesses, and chemical, biochemical, etc. reactions take place. In particular, these reactions take place in a closed environment, i.e. without connection to a surrounding medium. It is necessary in this case to avoid germs from the environment penetrating the interior of above-mentioned containers and impairing and distorting the progress of reactions, experiments, etc. Furthermore, containers of this type may be used in hospital environments, for example for blood transfusion and blood washing. In this case too, care has to be taken to ensure that germs from the environment do not penetrate the interior of a container, since, for example, the content of the container could be contaminated as a result.
Many of the processes taking place in these preferably flexible containers should, if possible, take place under predetermined or controlled conditions. For this purpose, it may be necessary, for example, to detect and/or to measure physical variables or values of the media present in the containers. For example, it may be necessary to measure variables, such as temperature, pH value, cell density, optical transmission, etc., wherein these values are to be measured as directly as possible without running the risk of contaminating the interior of the container.
It is therefore an object to determine physical and/or chemical and/or other parameters in the interior of a container in a simple manner without the interior of the container entering into contact with a surrounding medium.